


blood is rare and sweet (as cherry wine)

by CJAcrologic



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: ATEEZ - Freeform, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fluff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Middle Ages, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, based on english medieval times because i dont know about korean history, prince seokmin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2019-11-19 14:21:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18136877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CJAcrologic/pseuds/CJAcrologic
Summary: “I think it’s all bullshit,”“Yeah?”“Yeah. The next in line for the throne ‘falling seriously ill’ the day after the king died? There’s no way he’s alive anymore, the Guards are too good at their jobs,”——Seokmin, the King's only son, has just fallen terribly ill and the crowning ceremony has been postponed indefinitely. Meanwhile, Soonyoung, the popular barkeep, meets a jumpy boy who claims his name is Dokyeom and decides to take him home because he is a self-proclaimed idiot and collects strays.(magical!au and kingdom!au where Mages are forbidden in the boundaries of the kingdom, but they're here anyway) (it's cliche but cliches are used for a reason and they're fun! based on King Arthur Seokmin)





	1. the tavern

**Author's Note:**

> lol hi if any of you are still following me, i'm back from my 5(?) year long break and hopefully i'm a better writer 
> 
> im posting this impulsively and don't have anything more written at the moment so we'll see how far this goes! i'm looking forward to it too, guys

“I think it’s all bullshit,”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. The next in line for the throne ‘falling seriously ill’ the day after the king died? There’s no way he’s alive anymore, the Guards are too good at their jobs,”

“Oh, come on, when was the last time they actually did something?”

Soonyoung set down the goblet he was polishing. “Are you kidding me? You heard what happened to Jihoon, right? He’s still at Jeonghan’s,”

“Oh, shit,”

“Anyway,” Soonyoung returned his attention to the more-than-clean goblet, “You gonna pay for that? I can only give you so many ales on the house before hyung starts to notice,”

“Oh, come on,” Seungkwan groaned, “He’s fine with it, we’re friends,”

“He’s fine with me handing them out to friends who are of age,”

Seungkwan groaned and fished a coin out of his belt pouch, “Fine, but next time I demand snacks with them,”

“Sure,” Soonyoung scoffed, “I’ll let you grind the cornmeal yourself,”

“Hyung!”

“Get out of here, your boy’s been looking at you,” Soonyoung swatted Seungkwan with his rag, nodding his head at a boy sitting alone at a table across the room. Seungkwan looked over his shoulder and made eye contact with Hansol, who blushed and quickly turned away.

“Chwe!” Seungkwan’s shrill voice cut through the din of the crowd, standing and sauntering over to him. Their conversation faded into the background noise of the tavern. Soonyoung finally set down the shining goblet, admitting he couldn’t procrastinate with that one anymore.

A new customer came up to the bar and sat across from him. His hood was low on his face, just showing a hint of dark curly hair underneath. That wasn’t that unusual, they got all kinds ‘round here who don’t want to be known.

“Hiya, Beauty,” Soonyoung winked, “What can I get ya?”

“Uh, a wine, please,”

Soonyoung laughed, “Wine? What are we, the palace? We don’t have wine here, that shit’s imported. But yeah, let me just run up to the castle quick and see what they have,"

“Oh, my bad, um. Just an ale, please,” the boy stammered. He couldn’t have been older than himself, Soonyoung guessed, and what little he could see of his cheeks turned pink.

“Hey, I’m just kidding,” Soonyoung smiled, “No hard feelings. One ale coming up,”

As Soonyoung filled a pint with ale, he watched the boy with curiosity. He seemed uncomfortable, as if he had never been in a tavern before and would be hauled out by the scruff any minute.

He handed the boy the ale and watched him curiously. The boy took the glass and lifted it to his nose, taking a deep breath. Rookie mistake. He scrunched his nose and looked displeased, but did he expect something good? He lifted his eyes and glanced at Soonyoung, who raised an eyebrow in question. The boy quickly looked back down at his drink and took a swallow. His face immediately contorted as if someone had fed him manure.

He set the pint down and just barely held back a gag.

“You good, boy?” Soonyoung asked.

He nodded and cleared his throat, “Fine, thank you,”

“First time having good ol’ handmade ale?” he jibed.

“‘M not used to something this… Strong,”

Soonyoung snorted, “You call that strong? Would you rather a cider?”

“No! No, it’s alright. How much is this? Seven carats?” he began digging in his side pouch.

“Seven? For this shit? Gods no, it’s barely worth two,”

The boy looked genuinely confused. He paused his rifle through the bag and looked up fully at Soonyoung. Damn, he was a cutie, if not some of the stupidest shit to graze the fields. He had a little bit of dirt smudged across his face, but there was a heavy dusting of freckled up and over his nose that made Soonyoung want to scream.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” Soonyoung put on his best country hick accent, hoping to make the boy more comfortable, “Y’aint from ‘round these parts?”

To his dismay, it just made him more panicked. “I’m sorry forgive me, I’ve been — away for a while, and this is my first time o—”

“Whoa, hey, it’s ok!” Soonyoung leaned on his elbows on the bar, “Don’t worry, I’m just giving you shit. You ok? You look like you just heard the Guard’s Call,”

Maybe that was another wrong joke to make, because the boy sat bolt upright and pulled his hood down lower on his head.

“No, fuck, I’m sorry, you’re ok, it was just a joke. Here, do you want some water?” Soonyoung gave him a fresh mug and made some soothing noises to get the boy to calm the fuck down. Something was wrong with the poor kid, he looked like he feared for his life.

The boy drank some water and took shaky breaths. “I’m sorry, I just came in to ask if there was lodging nearby,”

Soonyoung didn’t like the idea of that. This kid would get mugged so easily.

“Not really,” he hummed, scratching his chin, “But my shift ends soon enough, and I have an extra cot. It’s not much, but you don’t look like you’d survive the night outside,” Call him a bleeding heart, Soonyoung took in strays like it was his job. That’s how they got Mingyu and Chan anyway, so it didn’t end up too bad most of the time.

“I couldn’t,” he protested.

“Sure you could. I’m not trying to take you home to bed you, don’t worry. And also, it’s almost curfew. Unless you’re going to go to the rooftops with the scrabblers, do you have another option?”

The boy swallowed. “Alright, thank you for your gracious offer,”

Soonyoung gave him his signature 10:10 smile then shouted across the tavern, “CHAN! You’re closing tonight!”

Chan didn’t acknowledge him other than a wave of his hand, unable to drag himself away from Junhui and Minghao’s tales of far off kingdoms. They were always over-exaggerated, but the boys loved swapping stories anyway.

He turned back to the curly-haired boy, “I’m Soonyoung, and this bar isn’t mine but it’s as good as,”

“I’m S— Dokyeom. I’m Dokyeom,” his voice shook.

“Well, Dokyeom, shall we head out? We have fifteen minutes before curfew and I’m a good ten minute walk away,”

Dokyeom nodded hastily. Soonyoung clapped his hands before leaving the bar, encouraging Dokyeom to follow him to the storeroom and back door.

“Soonyoung? Who’s this?” Seungcheol looked up from his bookkeeping, nodding his head at the meek Dokyeom trailing behind him.

“Hyung, this is Dokyeom, he’s my newest stray,” he announced proudly.

Seungcheol goraned, “Not another one. Dokyeom, just smack him if he’s too in-your-face. He’s a herding dog, I swear. He collects people like witches collect toads,”

“Hey!” Soonyoung protested, “That’s rude to witches!”

Seungcheol laughed and waved them off, “Get out of here,”

The two of them left the tavern and Soonyoung led the poor boy down the walking trail to the road. His head spun like an owl’s and he was strung like a bow.

“I’m just, not used to the curfew,” he supplied weakly.

Soonyoung nodded, it didn’t make any sense to him either. “Yeah, I hate it too. 'Specially as a barkeeper. Mages aren’t even dangerous, but the rich are scared, so they’re the new public enemy,”

Dokyeom gave him a side glance, “Careful, speech like that could get you in trouble,”

“I’d like to see them try,” Soonyoung laughed, “Their heads are so far up their asses they couldn’t tell a Mage from a commoner if they spat in their face. Unless they had acid spit, that would be cool…” Soonyoung trailed off.

Soon enough they got to his house, if it could be called a house. It was hardly the mansions that surrounded the castle, but it was warm and it was home.

“Mingyu!” he called, “I have a visitor! Gyu?”

Soonyoung haphazardly threw his boots against the wall, noting that Dokyeom places his neatly at the door, and walked into the house more. There, in the middle of the kitchen floor, sat his roommate, across from the perfect image of his roommate.

“Gyu!” Soonyoung hissed, running in and aiming a slap for both of their heads, “There’s someone here!”

His hand passed through the figure on the left but collided with the one on the right.

“Shit!” Mingyu fell over backwards, the image of him fading like smoke, “I almost had it! Why’d you —” he stopped when he saw Dokyeom standing in the hallway. “Oh,”

Dokyeom’s eyes were about to pop out of his head. Soonyoung flicked out his wrist and the chair from the table slammed against the front door, jamming itself under the doorknob. The shutters slammed shut and Dokyeom spun, trying to watch it all happen. Soonyoung summoned a knife to his hand and slammed the boy against the wall, holding the knife to his throat.

“Whoa, whoa! Hyung!” Mingyu scrambled to his feet and rushed to hold Soonyoung back but was too late.

“What are your views on Mages,” Soonyoung growled. If this kid wanted to run off and call the Guards, he wouldn’t leave the house alive.

“What?” the kid’s voice cracked.

“You heard me! Are you pro-Mage or are you with the Reign?”

“Hyung!” Mingu hissed.

“Shut up, Gyu! Answer me, Dokyeom!”

“I’m pro-Mage!” he gasped. Soonyoung stepped away and let the boy fall to the ground.

He pointed the knife at him and stood up straight, “You will not say anything,”

Dokyeom rubbed his throat and pushed his hood off of his head, glaring at Soonyoung with mirth in his eyes. “Why would I?”

“We don’t know if we can trust you,” he growled.

Dokyeom looked around the kitchen for something he could grab and Soonyoung stood at the ready with his knife again. The only thing within reach was another kitchen chair, and he wrapped a hand around one of the spokes of the backrest. He closed his eyes.

“You got this chair from your hyung. They used to be in the tavern, but he got new inventory. This is the favorite chair of the one who can duplicate himself, but there is one who sat in it recently and panicked, presumably from the excess of beer he spilled over it,” Soonyoung lowered the knife and his guard. Dokyeom opened his eyes and let go of the chair. “Why would I turn you in when you could turn me in all the same?”


	2. the house

Soonyoung let go of the knife. Instead of it clattering to the floor, it gently floated back to the knife block on the counter and put itself away. He scrubbed his face with a hand and stretched his shoulders, sighing loudly. 

“You always bring us home, hyung,” Mingyu laughed under his breath. 

“I know, and I need to stop,” Soonyoung groaned back. 

Dokyeom stood up from the floor and brushed off his pants, adjusting his cloak to sit more snugly around him. “So, um, hello, I’m Dokyeom,” he bowed slightly, more of a tilt of the head than anything. 

“Well, since I’ve collected another now, hi, I’m Soonyoung and I’m a Mage while we’re at it,” Soonyoung looked back and forth between the boy and Mingyu, who was delightedly introducing himself. 

“Hi! I’m Mingyu, and I can make illusions of myself!” 

“That’s fantastic!” Dokyeom looked to be relaxing a bit for once, getting distracted with his conversation. 

“They’re not very solid, but I’m working on making them be able to pick things up on their own! Did you say someone spilled beer on my chair? That lying dog, he said he didn’t!” 

“Kid,” Soonyoung interrupted, “Are you a part of a coven?” 

“Um, no?” he looked confused yet again. 

Soonyoung scrunched his eyebrows, “A guild?” 

“Should I be?” Dokyeom asked, concerned. 

“He can join ours, right hyung?” 

“Gyu, if I were leader, I would say yes. But I’m not because I don’t make the wisest decisions,” they laughed together for a moment before Soonyoung stopped and let out another loud groan. 

“What’s wrong?” Dokyeom looked concerned, as was his default Soonyoung assumed, and stepped forward, holding out his hands. 

“I’m gonna have to tell Seungcheol. Again,” 

Mingyu clapped his shoulder then moved to grab the chair from under the door. “Yep, and he’s not gonna be happy. Now come on, I made dinner,” 

Soonyoung and Mingyu set about making their kitchen suitable for company, mainly meaning Soonyoung floated bowls to the table and Mingyu brought the impressively large pot of stew to the center. Dokyeom stood in the corner awkwardly, glancing back and forth between the kitchen and the door. 

“Come, sit,” Mingyu pointed at a chair and stared until Dokyeom couldn’t say no anymore. He scooped a large serving of his stew and handed it to Dokyeom, who set it on the table in front of him and squinted at it. 

“Is there something wrong?” 

“No, I’m just trying to determine what’s in it,” 

As Mingyu happily rattled off the ingredients, Soonyoung took a deeper look at the boy across from him. 

He definitely wasn’t from around here, that’s for sure. His cloak was a deep emerald green, which would not be that unusual were it not for the fine detailing trim and silver clasps. His cream shirt, again, didn’t look that uncommon, but it looked like it had just been pressed and treated. There wasn’t a stain in sight, nor was there a tear or fray. Dokeyom’s hair was fluffy and clean, and Soonyoung could have sworn it smelled like lavender when they were walking together. Not that he was smelling the boy’s hair! That would be weird! But since he was noting details, it was something to pay attention to, right? 

“Hyung,” Mingyu elbowed him in the side, “Eat,” 

Right. 

He scooped a spoonful of Mingyu’s stew and, once again, thanked the Gods that Mingyu was his housemate. If he had still been living alone, he would be eating bread and cheese with the mice. 

“So, where are you from, Dokyeom?” Mingyu asked around a mouthful of food. 

“Oh, I’m, uh, I’m visiting from across the river,” he neatly swallowed another spoonful of stew. 

“From EXO?” Mingyu spat a bit while speaking, but wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. 

“Yes,” Dokyeom gnawed his lip, and didn’t make eye contact, “I grew up here but I’ve been away for a while,” 

Mingyu hummed understandingly, “Why’d you come back? Surely you’ve heard all the news lately,” 

“No, I haven’t. Why, what’s been happening?” 

Mingyu swallowed and set down his spoon. “Oh, Gods, you haven’t heard anything?” When Dokyeom shook his head, Mingyu launched off on his tirade. “So, the King died a few days ago. You must have heard that, right? Well, his son Seokmin was lined up for the crown, but the Committee announced today that he had fallen severely ill in the night and the crowning ceremony is postponed until he’s better.” 

Soonyoung rolled his eyes, “Yeah, if he’s still alive, that is,” 

“What do you mean? Do you think it’s that bad?” 

“Ha! No,” Soonyoung pointed his spoon at him, “You see, the prince  _ had _ been fine, made a public appearance last week or so.  _ My _ guess is they killed him in the middle of the night,” 

“Oh Gods, why?” Dokyeom gasped. 

“Gods, you have been living under a rock! He was starting to talk about lifting the ban on Mages,” 

“Ok, and?” 

“... You know we’re illegal here, right? EXO’s some weird utopia where even President Junmyeon is a Mage, but not in Pledis,” 

Dokyeom sipped his beer, and asked quietly, “Why do you think there’s such a difference between the kingdoms?” 

“Listen,” Mingyu groaned, “Not every place can be like EXO where the president is a Mage or even N-City where their Council has Mages on it. The Committee here has been 100% human for as long as the kingdom’s been around, and we haven’t had any kind of upheaval here yet. Do you remember how much EXO struggled to get a public election?” 

Dokyeom hummed, “Who could forget? I had so many forms to sign,” 

“Forms?” 

“Oh, yes, for, um, for my travel permit,” he glanced at the door again then back at his bowl. 

Soonyoung and Mingyu nodded. There was something off about his response, however. Soonyoung felt like he was agreeing with what they were saying too quickly, not to mention that he looked like he would like nothing better than to leave. But, he had been gone for a while, and seemed to be an anxious person anyway. He’d give him the benefit of the doubt, but maybe keep an eye on him until he could get him to Hansol. 

When they had finished dinner, Mingyu announced he would retire for the night while Soonyoung showed Dokyeom where he would be sleeping. Really it was the empty space at the side of the main floor that could fit the spare cot, but he didn’t have to know all that. 

“Here you go, there’s extra blankets in the closet under the stairs here. In the morning, we’ll go back to the tavern and you’ll meet Hansol and Seungcheol-hyung,” 

Dokyeom nodded. Soonyoung expected him to start making himself comfortable but he stood there and waited for something. 

“This is it, make yourself comfortable. You’re welcome to the kitchen, I don’t know what else we have though,” 

Dokyeom chewed his lip again and nodded, though his eyebrows raised slightly. “Thank you, Soonyoung-ssi, for your hospitality, you don’t understand how grateful I am,” 

Soonyoung smiled. This kid knew how to be thankful, at least. He could tell he was expecting something more, but he didn’t make a fuss and Soonyoung appreciated that. “Ah, you’re fine. Rest well, we’ll leave after dawn,” he turned and climbed the stairs to his own room. 

When the door clicked behind him, he leaned against it and thought hard about the first floor, imagining every detail. There was the stair that creaked, the loose floorboard along the wash basin, the writing desk. Finally, he imagined the front door, just past where Dokyeom would be resting for the night. He turned his hand as he imagined the handle of the door. The mechanism moved with him, and he overextended it as much as it could go. When he opened his eyes, he gave himself a private little smile. Now even if Dokyeom had his doubts about turning them in or not, he wouldn’t be able to even leave until Soonyoung himself left. 

Tomorrow, Hansol would tell them whether or not he could be trusted. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lemme know if you have feedback! id love to hear from you
> 
> and thank you for your comments and kudos! i appreciate it <3


	3. the meeting

“Hyungie,” Mingyu shook Soonyoung awake, “You gotta open the door,” 

“Mphrgh,” Soonyoung groaned. 

“You forced it closed last night, I can tell, and now it’s jammed. I can’t get out. I have work, hyung,” 

“Nophgm,” he grumbled into his pillow. 

Mingyu pushed him out of bed. “You have to go see Cheol-hyung today!” 

“Agh! Oh my Gods, ok, fine! I’m awake! Jeez!” he scrubbed his face and shook his head. 

“Go see your new stray puppy,” Mingyu laughed, his job done. 

Soonyoung quickly changed into cleaner clothes and dug around his room for whatever else he would be bringing with him today. Thundering down the stairs not long after, he stretched at the bottom and felt his back pop. 

“Good morning, Soonyoung-ssi,” Dokyeom perched on the edge of the cot, exactly the same as he was the night before. Emerald green cloak wrapped tightly around his shoulders, but this time his pressed linens were a little more worn-in and his hair was piled higher atop his head. 

“Morning, Dokyeom-ie. Ready to go?” 

“I suppose? I am still unsure of with whom we are meeting today,” 

“Ugh, don’t be so formal,” Soonyoung strained against the door manually before remembering he was a Mage. It swung open happily as if it hadn’t been tightly shut the minute previous. 

The two of them set off at a comfortable pace, Soonyoung pointing out a few shops or homes along the way. Dokyeom took it all in with awe. The normally ten minute walk was stretched to easily be a half an hour long as they stopped for sweet rolls at one of Soonyoung’s favorite shops. 

“Do the streets of EXO look so different than this?” 

Dokyeom hummed, “I am used to much… Cleaner environments,” 

“You calling my neighborhood dirty?” he fake-shouted, laughing at the boy’s panicked face, “You’re absolutely right, though, it is,” 

They got to the tavern soon enough. Walking in, Soonyoung waved to the people he knew, whether they were in his coven or just regulars at the bar here. He led Dokyeom up the stairs along the back wall to the second floor. Up here was the dining room, so to speak. It was a large room that overlooked the main floor with a balcony, but was offset and over the back room of the tavern. Today, the tables were in a group along the far wall, and apparently Soonyoung had forgotten there was a coven meeting today, because most of them were gathering around. 

“Coups-hyung!” Soonyoung called. 

Seungcheol turned away from his conversation with Wonwoo and looked to Soonyoung. 

“Ah, you’ve come back with your stray?” 

“Yep, I’ve collected another,” Soonyoung laughed, embarrassed. 

Seungcheol hummed, looking Dokyeom up and down. Dokyeom shifted his weight, toying with the hem of his shirt. 

“Do you want to come talk before the meeting?” 

“Yeah, can we grab Hansol?” 

“Sure, can you call him over?” 

“Hansol!” Soonyoung waved him over then turned to Seungcheol again, following him back down the stairs to the back room. 

Seungcheol closed the door once the four of them were in the room. 

“Hyung,” Soonyoung began, “This is Dokyeom from last night. I brought him home and, guess what, he’s one of us!” 

Seungcheol hummed, giving him a look that clearly said there was more to this story than he was being told. Soonyoung grabbed Dokyeom’s shoulders and marched him to stand in front of him, facing Hansol. 

“Uh, hello,” he gave his stiff bow again. 

Soonyoung and Seungcheol both watched Hansol for his reaction. 

“Hi, I’m Hansol,” he responded, smiling faintly. 

“I’m Dokyeom,” 

“Ooh, that’s interesting,” Hansol looked like a child who had been given a sweet. Soonyoung held his breath. 

“What is it?” 

“Hush, hyung,” he replied, “I’m having a conversation here. How’s your stay with hyung been, Dokyeom-ssi?” 

“I’m very grateful for Soonyoung-ssi and Mingyu-ssi’s hospitality, rest assured I would have had a much worse night were it not for them,” Dokyeom stood straight, feet perfectly shoulder-width apart, hands tucked behind his back and shoulders open. 

“Very smooth,” Hansol commented. Soonyoung watched as Dokyeom’s face didn’t give away his confusion, but his jaw clenched the slightest bit. 

Hansol was actually commenting on Dokyeom’s aura. He was a psychic, to an extent. He read auras, and most of the time he used it as an interesting party trick, but he was actually fairly helpful when they were meeting new people. This was one of the first times he had described someone as ‘smooth’ before, to Soonyoung’s knowledge at least. 

Hansol continued politely, “What brings you to Pledis? It’s not a very popular time to be visiting, I’m afraid,” 

Dokyeom nodded, “So I’ve heard. Unfortunately, I had not been caught up on much until last night, but my hosts were more than happy to explain,” 

Hansol gave Dokyeom a look that Soonyoung couldn’t decipher then smiled at Dokyeom. “Well, welcome to our tavern, I think you’ll fit right in,” 

Soonyoung and Seungcheol exchanged glances. That was the fastest Hansol had ever approved of someone before. 

“Dokyeom-ssi,” Seungcheol cleared his throat, “Can I ask you to step out for a second?” 

“Of course,” he quietly excused himself from the back room. 

“What was that, Hansol?” Seungcheol whirled to face the younger. 

“I like him,” he shrugged. 

“Explain?” Soonyoung gestured at the door, “You asked him two questions,” 

“His aura is bright red, it’s the most solid and true color I’ve seen, hyung,” 

Soonyoung protested, “But he’s hiding something, I know he is!” 

“Maybe, but I trust him,” he shrugged, “I don’t know how much you want to bring him into the coven, but he’s honest… Like, other than that part. He’s genuinely grateful and super overwhelmed, but he’s doing his best,” 

Soonyoung looked at his leader again and Seungcheol nodded towards the door. Hansol stepped out, leaving the two of them in the office storeroom alone. 

Seungcheol sighed and leaned against the table. “Well, what’s his power?” 

“He can tell the history of objects he’s holding or something. Not all that flashy, but I can see how it would be useful,” 

Seungcheol gave him a long look and sighed. “With Jihoon out, you’re the last of my leaders, so this decision is between you and me. I can’t run ideas past Jeonghan or Jisoo either, since they’re healing Jihoon,” 

“Still?” Soonyoung had no idea, “I thought he was ok?” 

Seungcheol dropped his gaze to the floor, “From what we can tell, they’ve either created a way to throw fire, or…” 

“No,” Soonyoung gasped. 

“The Guards might have a Mage with them, hunting down other Mages,” 

 

Soonyoung and Seungcheol stepped out of the back room and scaled the stairs to the rest of the coven. Soonyoung agreed, since Jihoon was out, he and Seungcheol were the only two leaders left. That means the responsibility to keep the coven going was on them. They decided they would tell the coven that Jihoon was alright, just confined to bed, and not that Jeonghan had drained a goat of its life-force to give to Jihoon and donated the meat to the local butcher. Or that Jisoo was closing up his apothecary for the next week to prepare potions and salves.

“Hyung!” Chan called once they got to the top of the stairs, “Are Jeonghan-hyung and Jihoon-hyung coming today?” 

“What about Jisoo-hyung? His shop’s been closed all day,” Seungkwan rallied. 

Seungcheol shook his head, “Jihoon’s been confined to bed. Has Mingyu arrived yet?” 

“Here, hyung,” Mingyu answered, clambering up the stairs and removing an apron. 

“Great, let’s get started,” 

Soonyoung and Seungcheol stood at the head of the table, looking at the good portion of the coven who was able to come this morning. Junhui and Minghao, thick as thieves, sat at the far end of the table, whispering to each other as per usual. To their right, Mingyu settled in, happily chatting with Seungkwan and Hansol. Across the table from them was Dokyeom, who had apparently made fast friends with Chan and Wonwoo. 

“First order of business, Soonyoung brought home a new stray,” 

“Hey!” Soonyoung protested. 

“Am I wrong?” Seungcheol laughed, “This Dokyeom, and he’s new to town. Dokyeom, you are more than welcome to stay with our coven if you like,” 

Dokyeom smiled shyly, cheeks turning pink under his freckles, “Thank you very much. Hello, I’m Dokyeom,” 

The table immediately clamored for his attention, shouting questions and greetings. “What’s your power?” “How old are you?” “What’s your blood type?” “Where are you from?” 

“Oh, I’m 20, I have psychometry, and my blood type?” 

“Yeah, your personality?” Seungkwan prompted. 

“I’m not sure,” he laughed nervously. 

“You’ll have plenty of chance to get to know him later, he’s been staying at Soonyoung and Mingyu’s, and you’re all over there all the time anyway. Continuing on,” Soonyoung gathered their attention again, “We need to start taking better caution, especially since Prince Seokmin is gone. I don’t know if you heard, but Chan and I got stopped heading home last night,” 

“Stopped?” Dokyeom whispered. 

“Mmm,” Chan nodded, “There was a cavalry Guard on the road home last night. They asked what we were doing out past curfew and ‘escorted’ us home,” 

“Hyung, you didn’t hear?” Seungkwan leaned toward Seungcheol, “They sent a page through the towns this morning too,” 

“More news?” 

“Apparently, the Prince isn’t just sick anymore,” Seungkwan’s voice was dripping with sarcasm, “ _ Apparently _ he’s been kidnapped. By  _ Mages _ ,” 

The coven released a mix of gasps and laughter, but Soonyoung noticed that Dokyeom blanched. 

“Uh huh, what next?” Mingyu chortled, “Now the King’s ghost is roaming around the kingdom?” 

Minghao piped up, “No, I’d see him if he were!” 

“Ok, ok, let’s think about this strategically,” Seungcheol interrupted, putting his palms down on the table, “That means we have to be even more careful. They’re using us as a scapegoat we all know they’ve just offed him themselves. I’m implementing a new rule: I don’t want anyone traveling alone anymore. That means you too, Wonwoo,” 

“Why? They can’t arrest me for having books,” 

“Are you in the clergy? Is that a religious book?” 

He shrugged, “I could argue it is,” 

“Don’t,” Soonyoung warned, “Just because you’re not a Mage doesn’t mean magic isn’t illegal,”

“Hyung, are we going to have to leave?” 

“No, Chan, of course not. We’re just going to put our heads down and wait for this all to blow over like it always does,” Soonyoung soothed. It always hurt him to see any of his babies worried, but Chan was the youngest of the group. If he weren’t so energetic, Soonyoung would keep an eye on him all day every day, but he’s hard enough to keep track of when he moves at a normal speed, let alone his super speed. 

“Since they’re upping patrols, I don’t want any of you out even near curfew. If you end up here and don’t have enough time to head home, I’ve sectioned off the top floor of rooms for us. Just like, help with dishes or something in the morning,” Seungcheol shrugged. 

“This has rooming upstairs?” Dokyeom looked Soonyoung in the eye. He couldn’t tell if that was mirth or ire in his eyes. 

“Oh, did I forget to mention?” Soonyoung laughed nervously. Junhui snorted and Soonyoung glared at him.  _ Shut up, shut up, shut up, _ he thought with all his might. Hansol laughed behind his hand. 

“So when can we go see Jihoon?” Mingyu asked, changing the topic. Seungcheol hesitated in answering, so Mingyu pressed. “We  _ can _ go see him, right?” 

“Not yet,” the leader said carefully. 

“What? Why not?” the room fell silent. 

“He’s on bedrest,” Seungcheol said again. 

“That doesn’t mean he can’t see people,” Mingyu argued. It was no secret that Mingyu was one of the few Jihoon let get close to him, being the reserved person he was, so Mingyu was obviously the most upset about the lack of communication. 

“And what about Jeonghan-hyung?” 

Seungcheol was getting nervous. “What about Jeonghan?” 

“Well,” Mingyu narrowed his eyes, “We haven’t heard from him, either,” 

Soonyoung swiftly took over, “They’ve been through a lot and they need to rest. Jeonghan’s still restoring his own power after this and there’s a ten-meter radius of death around his house. Meanwhile, Jisoo-hyung’s shop is closed because he’s working on something to help Jihoon heal faster. Don’t go over there, trust me,” 

No more protesting came from the coven. Soonyoung couldn’t tell if that meant they accepted the answer or if they wanted to argue more. He didn’t know which answer he would have preferred. 

“Moving on,” Seungcheol announced hastily, “I’ve decided to help you all with physical combat instead of relying on our powers. If there’s a situation where we can’t reveal ourselves but still need to fight, I’d like you to know how,” 

Soonyoung looked at him in surprise. He hadn’t heard anything about this; what happened with Jihoon’s scouting mission where a pacifist farm boy like their leader wanted to teach them how to fight? 

“I’ll be leading some sessions in the garden out back, Minghao will be helping me,” 

The Medium across the table nodded proudly, “Hyung will do more hand-to-hand and I’ll teach sword fighting,” 

Soonyoung found himself glancing at Dokyeom’s face yet again. He gave a small smile and suddenly Soonyoung was a lot more approving of this training. 

“Any other questions? No? Ok, you’re free to go,” Seungcheol announced. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so the plot thickens! 
> 
> thank you for your comments and kudos! love u all <3 
> 
> don't worry, i don't have any plans to abandon this! it's spring break for me now, so i'm basically gonna be writing all week bc i still have work. but i post a chapter when i have the one after it written, so time is going to vary. but now i have the plot laid out and i know what's finally happening in this! 
> 
> (let me know if theres any fanservice or sideships you want me to add while these idiots get to know each other and we'll see ;) )


	4. the market

The second the meeting was over, Soonyoung was assaulted by two people who pulled his arms and dragged him down the stairs. 

“Hyung, come to the market with us!” Minghao laughed at Soonyoung’s surprised face. 

“What, no I’m —” 

“Come on, Soonyoungie,” Junhui crooned from his other side, “We need to show your new friend around the neighborhood,” 

“He’s not my new anything,” Soonyoung tried to shake the boys off, “I just met him last night,” 

“And you let him stay in your house last night,” Minghao prodded. This wasn’t going to end well; the last time Minghao and Juinhui tag-teamed him, Soonyoung ended up alone, in the woods, in his undergarments, holding a cornucopia. 

“No, you are not taking me anywhere again, I swear to the Gods —” 

“Relax, we’re going as a group. Just the four of us! What could be better?” 

Soonyoung could list a number of things. Hanging upside down from a tree next to a beehive, sinking to the bottom of the ocean while sea monsters circled him, being literally stabbed to death… 

They stopped frog-marching him when they got to the front door of the tavern. Soonyoung stood on his own weight once again and brushed himself off, noticing someone standing in front of him after he straightened his tunic. Dokyeom turned to look at who had been dumped behind him. A smile broke out on his face and his fluffy hair rose and settled on his head as he spun. 

“Hello, Soonyoung-ssi,” his smile was the sun. 

“Uh, hi,” he answered. Stupid Soonyoung. 

“Shall we?” Junhui gestured at the door. Dokyeom agreed happily and Minghao led the way out of the tavern and into the late morning light. 

Was his hair brown? Or black? The sun made it shine and reflect in the curls and Soonyoung couldn’t tell. What he could see, however, was that Dokyeom’s freckles continued down the back of his neck and disappeared behind his shirt collar. He briefly wondered how far down they traveled before shaking his head to clear his thoughts. 

Minghao elbowed him in the side, “Enjoying the view?” 

“Actually, yes!” Dokyeom answered happily, “These woods are beautiful!” 

Junhui and Minghao erupted into laughter. Jun skipped up to Dokyeom and linked arms with him, surprising the poor boy, and began chatting with him about the different types of trees and whose gardens had what. 

Minghao, however, stayed with Soonyoung. “Hyung, you doing ok?” 

“Yep, absolutely fine,” his words caught in his throat. 

“C’mon, I hope you brought your coin pouch with you, because based on the way he looks at things in Pledis, he’s never been to a market before,” 

“Wait,” he turned to Minghao and whispered, “He’s from EXO Kingdom, you’ve been there before, right? What’s it like? Why don’t they have normal things like markets and trees?” 

Minghao laughed long and hard enough to draw Jun’s attention for a moment. He wiped a tear from his eye then answered, “For one, hyung, they  _ do _ have markets and trees. It looks the exact same as Pledis. And for another, why don’t you ask him? I’m sure he’d answer your questions, look how talkative he is with Jun!” 

They glanced forward to where the two were happily chatting away. From what they could hear of their conversation a few paces ahead, they were swapping stories of places they’ve traveled to before. 

“But have you been to N-City?” 

“Yes! They have my favorite food,” 

Dokyeom laughed, “Really? It’s all trash!” 

“Hey!” Jun pointed an accusatory finger at him, grinning, “How dare you! I’ll have you know I lived there for a while, and there is nothing better than… Actually, I take it back. You’re right, it’s terrible,” 

The two of them leaned against each other, laughing hysterically. Minghao ran up to them and looped his arm through Dokeyom’s on the other side, easily falling into stride with them. Together, they took up the entire walking path and would do so until they reached the town center. Soonyoung felt something rise in his chest that he wasn’t used to. He pointedly ignored it and moved on. This was something to think about late at night when he couldn’t sleep anyway, because he was sure if he paid attention he wouldn’t like the way his throat constricted and stomach churned. 

Right now, there was a market to see and a visitor to show around. 

 

“Is it always this busy?” Dokyeom wondered, moving sideways through the crowd. Junhui stepped in front of him and strode forward; people parted naturally around him. 

“No, this is mid-week. It’s much busier over the weekends. It was Ostara recently, though, so things are going to pick up as the spring grows,” 

“So this is not considered busy?” Dokyeom’s eyebrows rose into his hairline. 

Soonyoung laughed, “There’s barely anyone here! I can see the merchants across the square!” Yeah, there were people here, but they weren’t fighting to get to the other side of the center of town, so they should have a relatively relaxed day. 

They meandered through the square, pointing out a few merchants they frequented or noting what supplies they might need soon. 

“Ooh, I smell something fried,” Minghao turned into a fox on a mission, pacing through the crowd to find whatever street food he was craving. The group followed him, joking about how they could practically see his snout growing, wondering what trick he would have to pull to get his meal. 

They came to a merchant selling some type of game for a relatively cheap price. 

“Do you want some, Dokyeomie?” Jun asked, ordering for himself and Minghao already. 

“I’ve never had this before. What is it, peacock? It smells like bird,” 

Soonyoung turned to him and snorted, “You’ve eaten peacock? I should be asking you to pay for these meals, sir,” 

“Oh, do you not eat peacock here? Um —” 

Whatever he would have said next was cut off as Jun shoved a skewer of the greasy food into his face, still steaming. 

“Take a bite!” he encouraged. 

Soonyoung watched as Dokyeom took a tentative nibble, chewed, then dropped his jaw in awe. 

“This is delicious,” he whispered, taking the skewer from Jun. He nearly gave up his composure in favor of tearing voraciously into the game. 

“Good ol’ duck,” Minghao laughed. 

Dokyeom stopped mid-mouthful, “This is duck?” 

Soonyoung took a bite of his own, “Yeah, what did you expect, something imported?” 

Dokyeom finished his skewer, albeit a little slower now that he knew what he was eating. Soonyoung laughed under his breath at the expressions he was pulling as he tried to finish politely. 

When they were finished, Minghao linked arms with Dokyeom and Soonyoung both, one on each side of him, and began wading through the crowd again. Above the din of the merchants advertising their sales, Soonyoung could hear children laughing near the small flower garden of Town Hall and birds singing happily in the forest behind them. They were all so grateful winter was now over because this one had been harder than most. Soonyoung himself had been snowed into the tavern for nearly a week once, unable to make it through the blizzard to get home. 

Occasionally, Minghao would stop at a merchant that caught his eye. One in particular held some unusual swords and daggers from across the world. 

“Gēgē!” Minghao exclaimed, turning to Jun and pointing excitedly at a sword Soonyoung wouldn’t know how to hold let alone had ever seen before. 

Dokyeom, though not the intended audience for Minghao’s excitement, beamed. “Is that a jian?” 

Minghao, Junhui, and Dokyeom then exploded into a lively conversation about whatever this sword was, leaving Soonyoung behind completely. 

Why were the three of them getting along so well while Dokyeom still called him ‘Soonyoung-ssi’? He had quickly adopted calling Junhui ‘hyung,’ but apparently he and Dokyeom weren’t there yet. 

“Hey, I see more food over there,” he tried to get their (Dokyeom’s) attention, but they began talking with the merchant about how he got the swords. “I think there’s tacking gear that way, do you like horses, Dokyeom?” he asked to no avail. 

He groaned loudly, nearly giving up. 

“You doing ok there, buddy?” a voice next to him asked. He turned to see someone in a leather-and-fur jacket with hair short in front of his face but trailed down the back of his neck. Based on the rings on his fingers and the thread braided into his hair, this man was either a smuggler or some other so-called profession that made a good deal of money in a not-so-nice way. 

“I’m fine, thank you,” he responded curtly. 

“Whoa, hey, I’m just saying, you’re lookin’ a little jealous, friend,” he laughed. 

“I am  _ not _ jealous and I don’t need to talk to the likes of  _ you _ ,” he spat, immediately more defensive that Dokyeom was brought into it. 

“Okay, my bad,” he raised his hands peacefully, “I’m just killing time since your boyfriend is talking with my boyfriend, so I don’t have anything to do right now either,” He pointed at the man with unnaturally blond hair, happily discussing the swords. 

“He’s not my boyfriend, how many times am I going to have to say this?” Soonyoung muttered to himself. 

“Soonyoung-ssi!” Dokyeom turned to him, thankfully interrupting the awkward conversation happening here, “They’ve brought these back from across the ocean! They’re authentic!” 

“Yessir, they most certainly are,” the man smiled, “My ship travels the world, everything we bring is authentic,” 

“Stop bragging, Hongjoong,” the blond man laughed, “We just started a few months ago,” 

“You started a few months ago and you already have all this?” Minghao asked in wonder. 

“What can I say, I have a good crew. Hi, Hongjoong, captain of the ship ATEEZ, honorary world leader of fashion trends,” he introduced himself. 

Junhui and the blond man snorted with laughter. “Wearing that?” Jun laughed while the blond man said “You keep telling yourself that,” 

“Babe!” Hongjoong whined at the blond, “I like my fashion!” 

“Well, that makes one,” he laughed, “Hi, I’m Seonghwa, ignore him, he’s more of a captain for show. I’m the one who handles everything,” 

Soonyoung chuckled at that. These vicious pirates were nothing more than children. 

Dokyeom leaned over and whispered in his ear as the pirates continued bickering with each other, “They’re like an old married couple,” 

A wicked grin spread across Soonyoung’s face. He looked at Dokyeom and, in the most annoying ajumma voice he could create, he croaked “You always wear the most ridiculous outfits. What are you, a court jester?” 

Dokyeom’s face lit up. He replied in an equally bad ahjussi voice, “Leave me be, woman! You’re the one who’s stuck with me!” 

“What on earth?” Junhui separated himself from the continued roasting of Hongjoong and stared at them. 

“Fifteen years!” Dokyeom’s smile took up a solid half of his face and his lips formed a heart, “Fifteen years, I’ve been with her. And this is what I get?” 

Soonyoung stepped back, hunched over, and pointed his finger threateningly, “You could leave any time! You’re not the one with a cane!” 

Dokyeom and Soonyoung spent a second in silence before they simultaneously erupted into laughter. Soonyoung, from his hunched over position, collapsed to the ground and clutched his stomach. 

“Your face!” Dokyeom wheezed, “You looked so upset!” 

“How did you do that voice?” Soonyoung gasped, “You sound like my neighbor!” 

It took them a second for them to realize the conversation had stopped around them, and they slowly wiped a tear or two from their eyes and stood upright again. Soonyoung dusted himself off and looked at Jun. 

“What?” he asked, pretending nothing had happened. Dokyeom snorted next to him. 

“Match made in hell, I swear,” Minghao grumbled. 

“So anyway,” the blond man interrupted, wrapping up, what was his name? Seonghan? Sengha? “We’re in Pledis for the next month or so, and we’ll be moving downriver sometime before Litha so we can stock up for the festivals. Come back if you want to take another look at the sword!” 

“I will, maybe without them next time!” Minghao waved as they happily wandered off. 

Was Soonyoung worried about something earlier? He couldn’t remember, now that Dokyeom was joking with him as they wandered through the stalls of the market once again, this time making fun of a few vendors or buyers they passed. 

After turning down the next row of vendors, Soonyoung found ppopgi and insisted everyone stop to get some. They settled under a tree to eat and relax while the sun was at its highest. 

“Soonyoung-hyung,” Minghao asked, “Are you looking forward to the training Seungcheol-hyung and I are doing?” 

“Honestly, no,” he grimaced, “I’m terrible at fighting. I couldn’t even wrestle my brother when I was little,” 

Dokyeom grinned, “Oh, you’re going to have so much fun. I grew up learning so many different styles,” 

“I’ll have to challenge you, then,” Minghao grinned slyly. 

“Why did you learn how to fight growing up?” 

“Oh, it was important to my dad, I guess,” Dokyeom suddenly closed up and Soonyoung immediately recognized that was maybe not the best question to ask. He continued, “He passed just a little while ago, but he taught me most of the techniques himself,” 

Although he looked sad, he had a bittersweet smile on his face. Soonyoung patted his thigh pressed against his own. “I’m sorry,” 

He shrugged and grinned again, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes this time, “It’s okay, he knew his time was coming,” 

“I bet it would be good to honor his memory by passing on what you’ve learned from him,” 

Soonyoung was worried that Dokyeom would take offense to his hopeful suggestion, but thankfully Dokyeom looked back up at him, smile reaching his eyes once again. “I think he would love that,” 

“I would love to have someone help me teach everyone since Jun-gē will be with Seungcheol-hyung,” Minghao beamed. 

“I would be honored,” Dokyeom laughed, bending at the waist and giving a deep bow. 


	5. the practice

“Ok, who’s ever been in a sword fight? What about  _ any _ fight? No? Has anyone other than Dokyeom ever  _ held _ a sword?” Minghao’s confidence visibly dropped with each question. 

They were all gathered in the clearing behind the tavern, forming a semi-circle around Minghao, a pile of wooden swords in the middle of them. Chan hesitantly raised his hand before Seungcheol grabbed it and brought it back down to his side. 

“Well,” Minghao adjusted his shirt and resolve, “First we’re going to start with how to hold a sword. Everyone come grab one and make a line,” 

“Hao, there’s only seven,” Mingyu called. 

“That’s because Dokyeom-hyung and I will be using real swords,”

Soonyoung glanced at Dokyeom next to him and watched as the man shone with the recognition. Minghao waved him up to where he stood to demonstrate with him. 

When everyone had a solid wooden sword, ranging in size and shape, Minghao held up two metal swords. “Which one?” he offered. 

“I’ll let you decide,” he replied with a sly smile, unclipping his cloak and letting it fall to the ground. He began rolling up the sleeves of his still-crisp shirt, not taking his eyes off of Minghao. 

Minghao raised an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing. When Dokyeom was done, Minghao threw the larger of the two swords to him and Dokyeom caught the handle easily. He held it for a moment, tracing his fingers over the details on the handle and in the pommel, a soft smile on his face as he learned the history of the sword with his powers. 

“Should I give you a minute?” Minghao teased, twirling the thin sword around him. 

Dokyeom swung the sword maybe twice before falling into a stance he seemed completely at ease in: one foot in front of the other, left hand tucked neatly behind his back. “Don’t tell me you gave me the Bastard to try and mess me up,” 

“Don’t pride yourself,” Minghao taunted, “I simply assumed you haven’t been trained in a Rapier,” 

Dokyeom laughed, “I suppose we shall see,”

Minghao started esy, giving a slow jab that Dokyeom deflected with little more than a flick of his wrist. He stood with so much confidence, Soonyoung would have given up before even starting. 

Minghao was not Soonyoung, however. Dokyeom took his turn on the offensive, stepping forward enough to have him within reach. 

“Oh, interesting,” Minghao commented, parrying him away. He quickly stepped up the intensity, pushing Dokyeom back to his starting space. 

“I could say the same to you,” Dokyeom skipped forward. The sounds of their swords clashing echoed in the clearing. 

Soonyoung had no idea what they were talking about, but he had seen Minghao fight several times before and the only person who had been able to keep up was Junhui. But they had been together for years, so really that was no surprise. Soonyoung marveled at how fluidly Dokyeom moved, particularly when he switched back and forth between defending and attacking. It hardly seemed like he gave up his advantage when Minghao attacked; it seemed more like he was waiting for him to play into his plan. 

Minghao slashed and jabbed, searching for a gap in Dokyeom’s defences, but Dokyeom moved like he knew where Minghao was going to be. 

“Where did you say you trained again?” 

“I didn’t,” Dokyeom replied, not even breaking a sweat. 

“Ah, but you lived in EXO, did you not?” 

Dokyeom blocked an overhead strike and held Minghao close to him for a second, “Are you analyzing my style?” He shoved him away and shifted his stance, holding the sword with both hands, knees bent. 

Minghao hummed and shifted his stance to respond, waiting for Dokyeom to move. 

He charged, swinging with strong, wide movements. Minghao couldn’t block the attacks dead-on, so he began dodging and twisting to stay away. Dokyeom pushed him back nearly meter before he was able to retain his ground. 

“Oh, you’re good,” Minghao smirked before taking his own charge. They danced around the green in perfect sync, leaving Soonyoung to only guess at who was attacking or defending. He tore his gaze away from them for a split second when he heard one of his coven gasp in astonishment. He looked over at Chan, thinking it may have been him, but the boy was stock-still, watching in awe. It turned out to be Seungkwan, holding tightly onto Hansol’s shoulder. 

“A-ha!” Dokyeom exclaimed. Soonyoung hit himself for missing a pivotal moment in the fight because when he looked back, Minghao’s sword was on the ground a meter away and Dokyeom’s sword was pointed straight at his neck, a good few centimeters from the skin. 

Minghao and Dokyeom grinned widely, panting as if they had just taken a light jog. Minghao raised his hands in surrender and Dokyeom back down, reaching out to shake his hand. 

The coven erupted into applause, some of the maknae line whooping and cheering as they came back to stand in front of the crowd. 

“Hansollie,” Seungkwan didn’t take his arms off the boy’s shoulders, “I’m leaving you for Dokeyom-hyung,” 

“That’s fine,” Hansol laughed, “I would too,” 

“Hey, what about me?” Minghao joked, wiping sweat from his brow. 

“You have Jun-hyung,” Mingyu elbowed Jun next to him, “We wouldn’t dare,” Jun said nothing, he just smiled proudly at Minghao. 

Everyone began chatting around him, but all their forces turned into fuzz in Soonyoung’s ears. The sunlight through the trees shone on Dokyeom like a searchlight form the Gods emphasizing how he balanced the sword on his shoulder and stood proudly. He looked like a king, standing straight and tall, chest moving with his breaths, one hand level with his head at the sword’s pommel and the other on his waist, curly hair pushed up and off of his forehead with the little bit of sweat from the fight.  

Soonyoung shook his head to clear any more thoughts as Dokyeom walked up to him. 

“So, what’d you think?” 

Think, Soonyoung, think! 

“I think Minghao went easy on you,” 

Fuck! 

“Really?” Dokyeom raised an eyebrow. Soonyoung couldn’t tell if he was hurt or amused. “It didn’t seem like it, but maybe. But hey, you’ll be learning how to do that soon,” 

He blubbered like a fish to get the words to come out of his mouth, “I - um - that’d be - I could - I mean, I think - yes,” 

“Yes?” Dokyeom laughed, smile taking up most of his face. 

“Yes,” he nodded resolutely. 

“You doing ok there, hyung?” he pointed at Soonyoung’s wooden sword. He looked down to find it was no longer in his hand, but floating gently next to him. His ears burned. 

“Yep!” He scrambled to pick it up again but it floated just out of reach whenever he moved, “Just fine! I got lazy, that’s all!” the burn began to creep around to his cheeks and down his neck. Dokyeom laughed as Soonyoung finally grabbed the practice sword and stood it upright like a cane, leaning his elbow on it and assuming a casual position. “Nothing wrong here!” 

“Come on, then,” Dokyeom glanced over his shoulder to the rest of the coven, “I think we’re starting practice now!” 

Soonyoung watched as he jogged away, holding the great metal sword with ease, and began correcting Wonwoo and Mingyu’s stance. He demonstrated then beamed when they copied it exactly, clapping them on the back then moving on to the next pair. 

 

“I’m going to  _ die,” _

“Hyung, you’re fine,” 

“I take it back, this is worse than death,” 

“You didn’t even get hit!” 

“Leave me here, Mingyu-yah, this is my grave,” 

“Is everything ok?” Dokyeom stood next to Mingyu and looked down at Soonyoung laying on the ground. 

“He’s complaining,” Mingyu sighed. 

“Have some manners,” Soonyoung grumbled, “Your hyung is on death’s door. I can see the Gods coming to take me now,” 

“He doesn’t work out at all,” Mingyu explained. 

Dokyeom chuckled, “Why don’t you go practice with Seungcheol-ssi? You’ve been making really good progress,” 

Mingyu smiled and trotted over to Seungcheol-hyung, but Dokyeom crouched down next to Sonyoung, balancing on his toes. 

“I was not made for this, Dokyeom-ah,” 

“All we’ve done so far is go over how to hold a sword and how to swing,” 

“And I am just a simple barkeep, who knows not how to protect his family in these ancient ways,” he grew more and more dramatic the longer this went on, he knew, but they had been at this for so long and Soonyoung’s arms were sore with muscles he didn’t even know he had. 

Dokyeom offered a hand, “Here, c’mon, get up. Show me what you’ve learned,” 

Soonyoung groaned, but took it all the same. After helping him to his feet, Dokyeom handed him a practice sword and grabbed one for himself off the ground. 

“Show me how you hold it,” 

The burn on his ears was back. “Hold  _ what _ ?”

“The sword?” 

“Oh, right, right. The sword,” Soonyoung grabbed the handle and held it out in front of him. 

“You hold it like you’re scared,” Dokyeom chuckled, “Here, make sure your hands aren’t touching each other,” 

“So not overlapped?” 

“Gods, no. Like this,” Dokyeom demonstrated next to him, one hand supporting the pommel and the other at the hilt. Soonyoung tried but couldn’t support the weight of the great big sword he had picked up originally. “Here,” Dokyeom offered, “Try this one. It’s more like a shortsword than yours is,” 

He took Dokyeom’s and tried the same pose, finding it easier but not by much. 

“There you go!” Dokyeom complemented. Maybe Soonyoung had it right after all. “Now swing at me,” 

“At you?” 

“Yes, at me,” 

“But what if I hit you?” 

“Good thing I’m going to block it,” 

Soonyoung stared at Dokyeom, utterly confident and endlessly amused. “Ok…” He stepped forward and swung the wooden stick, hoping he was close enough. Dokyeom brushed the sword away with his own, but still congratulated him. 

“Good! Do it again!” 

He swung the other way and Dokyeom bounced his sword uselessly away from him. He continued, swinging wildly, and even though Dokyeom easily blocked every swing, he shouted encouragement after every one, finding something different every time. 

“Yes! Good stance, don’t put too much weight on your front foot or else you won’t be able to jump back. There you go! Good strength!” They made their way across the green, gradually building up speed as Soonyoung got a hold of the technique. “I’m going to start attacking now, too, hyung. Block just like I did, ok?” 

“What?” Soonyoung exclaimed. 

Dokyeom, once he had been pushed back so far he couldn’t go back anymore, pushed Soonyoung’s sword away and began his own attack. 

“Just like that!” he took a step toward Soonyoung, forcing Soonyoung to jump backwards, moving the sword to protect his face. 

“There you go, hyung!” Minghao shouted somewhere to his side. 

“I don’t know what I’m doing!” Soonyoung shouted back. He couldn’t look away from Dokyeom to see Minghao, let alone to see where he was stepping. Meanwhile, Dokyeom smiled at Minghao and continued slowly pushing him back. 

“You don’t have to know what you’re doing,” Dokyeom focused his attention back to him again, “Let your body do what it needs to protect itself, you know more than you think you do. Style comes later. Can you take the upperhand back from me?” 

Soonyoung, wide-eyed, blocked another attack or two before getting the rhythm down once more and doing the same Dokyeom did earlier: he pushed Dokyeom back instead of just deflecting and took a step forward, swinging while Dokyeom was still moving. 

“Yes, fantastic!” Dokyeom cheered. 

Soonyoung’s mind blanked as his cheeks heated up again. “Yeah?” he asked. 

Suddenly, the ground fell out from under him. His foot caught on a root. The ground rose to meet his face. Dirt entered his mouth. 

Sonyoung groaned in pain and rolled onto his back, reaching up to rub his chin. 

Dokyeom was there in an instant, helping Soonyoung to a sitting position. “Are you ok? You were doing so well!” 

“Fuck everything,” Soonyoung grumbled. 

“No, you did amazing. You’ve got real potential!” Dokyeom beamed. 

Soonyoung was certain he made a fool of himself in front of the coven, but his chest warmed when Dokyeom said he did well. That must have been the blush reaching his chest, right? Surely his warm, encouraging smile wasn’t giving him butterflies. 

Soonyoung smiled back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you think soonyoung is a confident gay you are WRONG 
> 
> we have a nice, soft, gay chapter before things start to pick up OwO
> 
> thank you again for your comments and kudos! i love hearing from you <3


	6. the streets

The sound of a door opening and closing encouraged Soonyoung to get out of bed. Thought it was late, he wasn’t sleeping, mind preoccupied with the events of the past few days. 

It wasn’t unusual for Mingyu to putter around the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning, but leaving the house? After curfew? Unheard of. 

“‘Gyu?” Soonyoung crept out of his bedroom to Mingyu’s across the hall. He peered through the gap of the door and saw Mingyu sprawled on his bed, starfish, face-first into the pillows. But something was off. The pillow didn’t seem to have squished under his head and he wasn’t snoring like he typically was. In fact, his chest wasn’t even moving with his breaths. 

“Fuck,” Soonyoung hissed, “It’s a copy,” 

He shoved his way into the room and frantically scoured the yard out the window. There, at the end of the street, Mingyu glanced around at the dark lane before darting away. No doubt he was sneaking out because Soonyoung and Seungcheol had forbade him from visiting Jihoon. He hadn’t recovered yet and was in no condition to see anyone without making the entire coven panic. 

Soonyoung raced down the stairs, grabbing his boots and shoving them on his feet as he rushed to the door. 

“Hyung?” 

He spun to see Dokyeom on the cot in the corner, pushing himself up onto his elbows. 

“Mingyu left,” Soonyoung announced. 

“Are you going to go get him?” 

“Yeah,” 

Dokyeom swung his legs to the edge of the bed and began pulling on his boots, “You’ll need help. It’s past curfew,” 

Soonyoung stepped toward him, “No, the Guards are out,” 

Dokyeom gave him a look of sheer determination, “Which means Mingyu’s out there alone,” 

Soonyoung stared at him for a second before jerking his head to the door. “Let’s go.” 

 

Dokyeom was much quieter than Soonyoung had assumed. Based on how he acted when he was excited, Soonyoung assumed he would trundle down the path, but he didn’t even make noise stepping over stray twigs. 

“Where is he going?” Dokyeom whispered behind him. 

Soonyoung thought about how much Dokyeom knew and how much he wanted to give away. “One of our coven was injured recently, and he’s not in a shape to have visitors yet. Mingyu’s sneaking out to go see him anyway,” 

Dokyeom hummed in response but didn’t say anything. 

Soonyoung led the way down the street and towards the center of town, moving slowly and sticking to the shadows. He was grateful the Guards didn’t feel the need to stay quiet, but that only helped so much in the dark. 

Since the curfew had been implemented,the streetlamps were no longer being lit. The Kingdom’s reasoning was there shouldn’t be anyone out anyway, so why should they fund lighting while the curfew was in place? This of course meant no more night markets or even night walks. But what the Kingdom didn’t count on was a spike in crime since no one would be out to see it. That led to stationed Guards throughout the village. Though they thought that would work, the Guards actually gave little regard for if they brought in a Mage alive or dead, so long as they brought one in. And if someone was dead, you couldn’t prove they were a Mage, but you couldn’t prove they  _ weren’t _ . This would continue until the curfew was lifted, and in Soonyoung’s opinion, it wouldn’t be lifted until all the Mages were killed. 

He rolled his eyes as they snuck past houses and closed shops in the dark, nothing but the moon to light the way. She wasn’t even a full moon tonight, she was just a small sliver in the sky, hiding behind clouds like she didn’t want to be caught either. 

“Hyung,” Dokyeom hissed, grabbing the back of Soonyoung’s shirt and dragging him behind a decorative bush. Soonyoung strained but heard, meters away, footsteps. This wasn’t a Guard on a horse, thankfully, but they weren’t at the part of town where they were stationed! They hadn’t even reached town center yet!

Dokyeom gently, silently, pushed a few branches out of the way so he could see around the corner. There, a house or two away, a Guard was pacing back and forth. As they watched, two more Guards came down the street and walked up to her. 

“You called?” one said. 

“Yeah, someone got past Jisung earlier in the night, so you’re taking over his post,” she ordered, “You, you’re coming with me. This one was a Mage for certain, he was able to duplicate himself,” 

Soonyoung clamped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from gasping. Dokyeom shot him a look to keep quiet. 

However, he also gave him a look saying Soonyoung should know what to do, but he had no idea what. Dokyeom raised his eyebrows, pointed at Soonyoung’s head, and pointed at the bush. 

_ What? _ he mouthed. 

He kept pointing. Head. Ground? Bush, Guard, something flying, an incredibly complex interpretive dance? Soonyoung shook his head. None of this made sense. 

Dokyeom grabbed the collar of Soonyoung’s shirt and yanked him close. “Use your powers,” he hissed, “Make a distraction,” 

_ Oh, _ that made  _ so much more sense _ . 

Soonyoung poked his head around the corner and got a view of the street. The lead Guard was heading closer this way with the one she ordered to come with her. Shit, what could he do? 

Dokyeom smacked his shoulder and pointed at a cart down the road that was waiting to be set up for tomorrow’s morning sales. Soonyoung directed his attention to the loose wheel and set his sights on the axle. He was able to shimmy the wheel off with every intention of making it roll innocently down the street, but he did not anticipate that once the wheel came off, the cart lost its support. 

The wooden cart upended and crashed into the middle of the road, making everyone jump. 

“Over there!” the woman shouted, running back to the cart. 

“Go!” Dokyeom hissed, pushing Soonyoung out from behind the bush. They pelted across the street and skirted behind the house.  

“We need to get to the forest,” Soonyoung instructed. 

“You lead the way,” 

They slunk down another two blocks before hearing another Guard. They threw themselves to the ground, holding their breath as they waited for them to pass. 

“I hope Mingyu made it,” Soonyoung muttered to himself as they reached the middle of town, just needing to clear the last group of dense buildings to reach the forest. 

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about him today,” Dokyeom reassured him, “It’s that he’s tenacious.” Soonyoung smiled and led the way through the alleys and hidden paths. 

Their eyes had long since adjusted to the little-to-no light, meaning Soonyoung was able to easily determine where they were. In the daylight, not dodging the Guards, they could make it to the treeline in a few minutes. However, there was no straight path to the forest from here since they had to weave between houses and shops in the dark. They had to pause another two times, pressing themselves into the stone walls, because they heard the guards; but at this point, Soonyoung could nearly smell the forest they were so close. 

He looked around one of the last corners, searching for any Guards up ahead, before nodding to Dokyeom to dash across the street. 

“Stop right there!” someone called from the other end of the block. Soonyoung, still in the shadows on the ground, had stayed hidden from the Guard silently approaching, but as soon as  Dokyeom dashed out, he was clearly visible. 

Dokyeom began sprinting to the forest, Soonyoung hot on his heels. 

“Follow the path. Don’t stop,” he panted. Dokyeom nodded and kept running. 

Soonyoung skid around the corner, ducking into the alley between a few merchant’s shops. He tucked himself into an alcove in the wall, against a set-in door, and held his breath. He could keep running to the left and head back into the middle of town, but there was no cover and no exit until he left the alley. 

Footsteps rapidly approached, followed by the sound of a sword being drawn. 

“Think, Soonyoung, think!” He pressed himself back against the door. It rattled, loose in its hinges. He spun and yanked the handle, shoving this way and that in an effort to open it. He reached out with his powers but instead of imagining the lock itself, like he did with his own door, he imagined the metal of the deadbolt shoving through the weak wood of the frame, moving splinters of rotting maple out of its path. 

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” he mumbled to the storeowner. 

The door sprung open and nearly smacked him in the face. He scurried inside and guided it closed behind him, careful to not make a sound. 

The Guard stalked down the alley, hard-bottom boots clacking against the cobblestone street. He slowed when he approached the door. Soonyoung held his breath in case he could hear through the solid wood of the door and slide his sword through it and the frame. 

“I know you’re here,” he sang, “Turn yourself in, it’ll be easier on all of us,” 

A crash echoed through the town. Soonyoung finally took a breath as the clack of footsteps raced off, but he jolted when he heard Dokyeom’s voice shout “Over here!” 

“You idiot, I told you to run!” he hissed as he crept back down the alley. 

Dokyeom, off in the distance towards the center of town, ran out of reach of Soonyoung’s guard and nimbly dodged the swing of another Guard’s sword. Dokyeom turned to look for him and when they made eye contact, he smiled widely and disappeared behind some wooden crates outside another shop. 

Suddenly, with a great cacophony and an explosion of feathers, the stack of crates fell clattering into the street, breaking open and releasing dozens of chickens. They scuttled and scrambled through the street, startled and screaming. 

Dokyeom appeared next to Soonyoung from a connecting alley and grabbed his hand. Before Soonyoung could say anything, Dokyeom yanked him along and they were running down the last stretch of the road. 

Soonyoung took a second to look behind them and saw three or four Guards there now, all blocked by the flood of chickens. Lights began to appear in the windows as people woke up and looked for what was causing such a ruckus. 

Dokyeom laughed, loud and bright, as they crossed the threshold into the forest, still holding hands. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we go, things are starting to pick up! the chapters might start getting longer from here, but i write this as i go!
> 
> thank you all for your support <3 i hope you enjoy!


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